


RC #227 Interlude #2: Separate Ways

by SkarmorySilver



Series: Protectors of the Plot Continuum: Response Center #227 [8]
Category: Protectors of the Plot Continuum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 18:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkarmorySilver/pseuds/SkarmorySilver
Summary: In which one agent is exchanged for another.





	RC #227 Interlude #2: Separate Ways

**Author's Note:**

> \- **Copyright Disclaimer:** The PPC and all related property belong to Jay and Acacia. All agents featured belong to me, with the following exceptions: Chris, Ami Seeker, and Miguel Correa belong to eatpraylove; Rina Dives belongs to Iximaz; Randa Roan belongs to Randa; and Violet Rose Greenfield was originally written by goat_lover4444 on Wattpad, and is hereby under the ownership of eatpraylove as of this interlude. (Brenda, who was recruited by Falchion and eatpraylove’s agents, belongs to me as of this interlude.)
> 
> \- **Betas:** Hieronymus Graubart, Desdendelle, and dragon master 7.
> 
> \- **Rating:** T/PG-13 - For explicit language, emotional breakdowns, and improper handling of old badfic nemesis-es.
> 
> \- **Original Posting Date:** February 25, 2015
> 
> \- ["Original Document"](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KhSB36EaXQcZBkOl7gB6JdKduyis7e7bxsmSMcW1WSg/edit?pli=1)  
> 

“Lies…   _LIES!_ ” cried Violet Rose Greenfield. “Why didn’t everyone t-tell me that I was… I was a…”

The angel choked off, tears pouring down her face. Sarah wanted to say something, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

The Super agent and her partner, Rashida, had happened upon the former Sue again on their way back to their RC, along with another girl who was trying to comfort her (though neither of these girls had noticed the two of them yet). Sarah didn’t recognize this second girl, who had either straw-blonde hair with streaks of brown, or brown hair with streaks of blonde; she couldn’t tell which, but she could’ve sworn she saw flames licking at the edges.

“It’s okay, V.R.,” the girl replied. “I was like that too, back in my homefic.”

“But I can’t turn into a fire-breathing unicorn,” the angel replied. “And you never fell in love with the hero of your home continuum!”

“Understandable. But you’re free to make your own choices now. It’ll all be okay.”

“I know… But… Was it like this for you as well?”

“It’s like this for all of us,” said Sarah, causing the others to look up at her. “There always comes a time when we find out that we’re part of a terrible fanfiction, or at least someone else’s story. Trust me… I would know.”

V.R. stared at the Super, and then her eyes narrowed. “You again?”

“Yeah. It’s me,” Sarah replied. “I just wanted to say, well… I’m sorry. For what happened.”

Rashida leveled a glare at the winged ex-Sue. “My only regret is that I didn’t shoot you when I had the chance, Miss Greenfield. You should be glad that you were delusional as opposed to being a genuine threat to the canon.”

“Whoa, _whoa!_ ” the other girl shot back, her hair starting to burn in earnest now. “You can’t just say that about her! Just because she said the wrong things doesn’t mean she’s dangerous!”

Sarah looked at the fire-haired girl curiously. “You’re that… Rapidash girl, right? Adam told me about you a while back.”

The mixed blonde/brunette girl gave her a confused look. “Adam?”

“My brother. You know, that metal bird?”

“Ah, the Skarmory? Yeah. He was the one who convinced us to join the PPC. Well, with help from Chris and Ami, anyway. I’m Brenda, by the way.”

“I’m Sarah Squall, and it’s nice to meet you both. Though you can call me Stratogale.”

Rashida aimed her glare at Brenda now. “Apparently, Falchion’s habit of indiscriminately allowing badfic characters to roam our halls runs in the family, and this _idiot_ —” she motioned towards Sarah — “isn’t even the same _species_ as him. I am not in a good mood this afternoon, so if you two know what’s good for you, then get out of my sight.”

“No way!” V.R. replied, unsheathing her knife. “I am _not_ going anywhere until you tell me what in Hades’ gravity-defying hairdo is going on here!”

“You were a Mary Sue, you got hired by some giant telepathic plants instead of having your brains blown out, and you are going to be mauled to ribbons by an angry white-furred mythological creature if you don’t _shut your_ nikomak _attention-whoring mouth, RIGHT NOW!_ ”

Sarah instantly stepped between the Sphinx agent and the other two girls, her hands spread wide and her expression furious. “Rosie, we are _not_ fighting anymore! Not after what we’ve been through today!”

“Look who’s talking,” Rashida snarled back. “After today, I _never_ want to see you again! _NEVER!_ ”

There was a full ten seconds of dead silence, during which the Super and the Sphinx glared into each others’ eyes, while Brenda and V.R. observed the standoff with bated breath.

The metaphorical final straw, however, did not come from any of them. For one Armor Bird Pokémon and one horribly disfigured dinosaur, both of which had said their goodbyes to their friend Rina from the DMS and spoken to the Floating Hyacinth, had inadvertently chosen that precise moment to round a corner and happen upon the group.

Sarah and Velociripper stared at each other, both pairs of eyes wide in stark horror.

An instant later, the Super had let out a wordless scream of pure rage and launched herself at the _Deinonychus_ , who had no time to react. The two of them collided in a tangle of feathers and flailing limbs, and toppled over in a mortal struggle while the other agents tried to break them up.

Caught beneath his assailant, Ripper slashed and tore at her with his teeth and claws, trying to throw her off of him, but she wouldn’t have any of it as she tried to grab him by the neck and strangle him. Her fingers closed around his arm, and she would have wrenched it off if he hadn’t tried to bite her in the shoulder. He rolled around so that he was suddenly on top of her, pinning her under his taloned feet; his killing claws would have pierced her stomach, but she managed to deliver a painful kick to his underside before he could get that far, sending him tumbling off of her.

Falchion desperately attempted to rush in, but he didn’t want to risk hurting either of them. Rashida, meanwhile, was trying to decide whether to finish what she’d started or prevent Sarah making an ass of herself.

And Brenda and V.R. were both watching the chaos unfold in a mixture of terror and morbid fascination.

Sarah leaped onto Ripper’s back as he tried to flee, her fingers risking injury as they slipped between his serrated teeth; thrown off balance, he fell forward to the floor, feeling his head being pulled upwards and his jaws being forced apart. Sarah tensed her muscles, preparing to split his mouth wide open and end him once and for all.

Then she screamed in pain, having felt a set of sharp teeth sinking into the seat of her pants. As Rashida pulled her away from her nemesis, Falchion too moved in, pinning the raptor’s neck to the floor with his talons.

The albino Sphinx released Sarah as soon as she was sure they were a safe distance apart. After wiping her mouth with her forepaw, she rounded on both combatants. “YOU… YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE _SHITS!!!_ ” she roared. “Fighting in the PPC halls and trying to _kill each other_ … IN FRONT OF ME… WHAT THE FUCK IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU TWO?!”

“Yeah, what she said,” Falchion squawked, glaring down at Ripper.

“You did _not_ tell me that the flying human was roosting with you,” the _Deinonychus_ hissed furiously.

“Not anymore,” Sarah replied. “I’m… I’m _done_ with all of you! I’m transferring tonight, and I’m never coming back!”

Everyone stared at her in total shock, with the exception of Rashida, who glared at her in anger and disbelief.

Falchion’s expression was nothing short of heartbroken. “But you’re… I’m your bro—”

Sarah pointed at Ripper in a murderous rage. “WHAT BROTHER OF MINE,” she screamed in CAPSLOCK, “WOULD LET THOSE FUCKING SALAD BAR REJECTS UPSTAIRS HIRE A MONSTER LIKE _HIM?!?!?!_ ”

Brenda and V.R. both stared at her, their expressions betraying horror and disgust at what she was saying. Rashida, meanwhile, turned to Ripper.

“You should have _died_ ,” the Sphinx spat hatefully.

The dinosaur could not look her in the face, and instead lay there listlessly. “You are correct,” he said sadly. “I should have.”

There was a long silence. Falchion did not know what to say. He hadn’t expected his adopted sister to show up as soon as she had.

“It wasn’t my fault,” he said slowly. “The Hyacinth—”

“Do I look like I fucking care?!” Sarah snapped at him. He flinched, but before he could open his mouth to speak, she continued her angry monologue.

“I have been living six months of LIES! SIX. _MONTHS!_ You’re not my brother, and I’ve never _had_ a brother. I was an only child until your past self came along and fucked all of us over! And no matter what you tell me about how much you care for me, after all you’ve done, it will never be the same fucking thing as having a blood relative with whom you have an instinctive connection, _without_ him being a fucking Gary Stu! I mean, come on! Us, siblings? How does that even _work?!_ ”

“Sarah —” V.R. began.

“Don’t ‘Sarah’ me!” the Super shot at her. “I did _not_ sign up for the PPC just to have people screaming at me for being horrible at my job!”

“I said what I had to, or you would’ve gotten yourself killed!” Rashida snarled.

“It doesn’t change the fact that it made me hate you, and we both know that!” Sarah retorted savagely. “Maybe you were right to call bullshit on me for nearly getting flattened by that snake-troll! Maybe I made a horrible first impression all those months ago! But does that mean you have to insult my character under the pretense of ‘making me a better agent’?”

The Sphinx growled, unsheathing her claws. “If you don’t need my help, then you shouldn’t even be here. How simple is it for you to understand that?”

“Fine! Have it your way! But next time you’re in danger, I won’t be there!”

With that, Sarah turned and ran away, already starting to sob. She didn’t even look back at Falchion, leaving him horrified, confused, and in spite of being in the presence of other people, completely alone.

Ripper struggled free from under the Steel-type, and stood up shakily. Rashida glared at him.

“This,” she snarled, “is all your fault.”

He didn’t argue. She was right — his very presence had been the thing that had made Sarah lose control so badly. And as long as he was here, she wouldn’t ever come back.

V.R., who had witnessed the entire meltdown in total silence, finally spoke up.

“Was it like this for you too?” she asked to Ripper.

Everyone looked at her.

“What do you mean?” Rashida asked fiercely.

“Finding out that your entire existence was a big fat lie,” said V.R. “Was it like that?”

Ripper’s yellow eyes gazed into her purple ones. Then his nostrils flared in a heavy sigh.

“Yes,” he replied sadly. “It was.”

“What do you mean?” asked Brenda. “Sarah called you a monster… Were you really like that?”

He looked at her, wishing he could express guilt. “I was a tool,” the raptor sighed in despair. “My author made me do _horrible_ things, things that I will regret for the rest of my life. I deserved to be digested, and I did _not_ deserve to be regurgitated and restored to the world of the living.”

“Then why are you here?” asked V.R. “Can’t you just kill yourself and —”

“It’s not like that,” he hissed at her, making her flinch. “I wasn’t revived just to suffer all over again. I was revived because fate offered me a second chance, and I am _not_ going to pass it up.”

Rashida still glared sideways at the raptor. “Are you sure you are telling the truth?”

“I am certain of it,” Ripper replied. “A few months of regeneration and a mission with two DMS assassins gave me plenty of time to think about what I did back then.”

“I… I pressed charges already,” said Falchion. “We talked things over after the mission, and he told the Hyacinth personally that he wants to make up for everything he’s done.”

“So, where are you going?” asked V.R. “Do you plan to stay at the PPC?”

“As far as I can tell, it is the best hunting territory in the multiverse,” Ripper replied. “I’ve given up on exterminating mankind, and I wish to prey on Mary Sues and other threats to the canon instead.”

The angel did not show fear, or anger, as she stared at the festering wounds on his body. What she felt was pity.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you,” she said, reaching out to touch him.

He moved his head such that his snout contacted her hand. “It cannot be helped. I deserved everything I got. And I will do everything in my power to compensate.”

“You’d better,” Rashida snarled. “Because if you even think about betraying us, I will personally _end_ you.”

“So, where will you stay?” asked Brenda. “What RC, I mean? Do you have any partners?”

“I would have gone with anyone else,” Ripper replied. “But nobody wanted to have anything to do with me given my history, with a single exception.”

Rashida stared at Falchion, who had remained silent up to this point. The Skarmory whipped his head around to look at her in sheer terror.

“I should have expected this,” she snarled.

“How was I to know this would happen?!” Falchion squawked. “If Ripper hadn’t had a change of heart, I’d have gotten rid of him just like you wanted! But he has enough of a personality now that the Flowers find him useful, and there’s nothing we can do about it anymore.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t change the fact that he did what he did.”

Ripper replied to that statement himself. “Maybe not. But it is all ancient history now. The best we can do is move forward.”

The white-furred Sphinx looked at Falchion, and then at Ripper. Finally, she let out a sigh of defeat.

“Fair enough,” she growled. “He can stay. But if he tries anything, I will see to it personally that he does _not_ live to regret it. By the way, Falchion, how horrible was the massacre?”

He blinked at her in surprise. “What?”

“You went on a mission with him and a DMS team while we were gone.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, yeah. That _Pokémon_ badfic. Actually, Ripper was a lot better behaved than I expected, especially after we witnessed how terrible badfic can really be.”

Brenda and V.R. both crowded around the dinosaur, their faces eager. “Did someone say _Pokémon_?” the humanized Rapidash asked excitedly. “What was it like? What Pokémon did you get turned into? Did you meet Ash?”

“Meet him?” Ripper asked slyly. “I _ate_ him. Well, an arrogant, pathetic replacement of him, technically speaking,” he added upon seeing the shocked look on her face.

“There weren’t any possessions, weren’t there?” asked V.R. “Was the badfic as bad as mine?”

“Oh, no,” Falchion replied. “It was worse. A _lot_ worse. Randa actually had to transfer to Bad Slash after we were done — we had to strap two horny, wangsty Team Rocket replacements to an actual rocket ship. It didn’t go that well for us.”

Brenda laughed, her voice sounding like a horse whinnying. Falchion could’ve sworn he’d seen Rashida almost smiling.

“And we also found a replacement of Gary Oak who had a dragon from a place known as Middle Earth trapped in a Poké Ball,” Ripper added. “Let’s just say that he went…” He paused, as though trying to figure out the right words to say, before finishing with, “...up in smoke.”

All of the agents, with the obvious exception of Rashida, doubled over in hysterics; even then, the Sphinx agent smiled in earnest.

“All of us did our Duty, including pressing charges,” said Falchion. “I was worried that Ripper’s history would cause problems, but I was mistaken. What about you?”

“Sarah and I recovered V.R. here from a _Kid Icarus_ badfic we got shortly after you left,” Rashida replied, her expression becoming hard again. “Pit was being angsty and emo, and it was awful. We ultimately exorcised a Sue-wraith from him, but Palutena purified it before we could get rid of it, and turned it into a copy of Pit. He’s recovering in Medical as we speak. And of course, we rescued this angel Sue as well. Luckily, the worst she was doing was spreading lies about Palutena, and I’ll bet she regrets that now.”

V.R. petted Ripper’s snout again. “So… If you can get over yourself… Does this mean I can man up, too?”

“I do not understand what you asked,” he replied, “but I do know that if there is one thing we can both do now, it’s leave our former lives behind us.”

To the surprise of the others, he licked the angel’s hand, his tongue feeling slightly moist running across her palm. V.R. couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you think I’ll be a good agent, Ripper?” she asked.

“With the aid of a good pack, I have no doubt about it,” he grinned in response. She shivered a little at the sight of his pointed teeth, but that was a minor consequence compared to how warm she felt.

Rashida looked inquisitively at the _Deinonychus_ agent, who let out a low rumbling noise in his throat while Brenda joined in, scratching behind his ear.

“You need to be taken to Medical,” the Sphinx spoke to him. “I know I have yet to forgive you, but Hathor’s udders, you look terrible.”

Ripper risked glancing into her pink eyes, and noticed that they had just the faintest twinge of sympathy.

“I never got to apologize for calling you chocolate,” he said. “Or being so condescending in general. If I had known that you were as invested in getting rid of the badfic characters as I was, I would have been more respectful. I am truly sorry, Rashida. It will not happen again.”

She looked at him dubiously, but didn’t argue. “Apologizing won’t solve anything without acting on it, but I will defer my judgment until I see how you work for myself. Now, let’s get you to Medical. And as for you two,” she added to Brenda and V.R., “you can consider yourselves forgiven — but from now on, stay out of RC #227.”

“Yeah, I think it’s best if you two leave,” Falchion agreed. “Maybe go find Sarah and talk to her.”

The other agents nodded, and then headed off, leaving Falchion, Rashida, and Ripper behind.

“So… Does this mean…” Ripper began, but Falchion’s smile negated any need to say anything further.

“Welcome to the PPC, Velociripper. And welcome to the pack as well.”

 

* * *

 

Unbeknownst to the three of them, an unidentified distance away, Sarah Squall was curled up in a corner, screaming in despair, tears staining the Generic Floor.

Her whole life had turned upside down so quickly. She had signed up for the PPC to make the multiverse a better place, and she did not get shredded by a jet turbine, cloned by a company from another continuum, forced into an awful mega-crossover as a supporting character for a Gary Stu, and braved even worse writing in the past few months, just to have people tell her that she was doing a terrible job.

What had she done to deserve this?

Her screams turned to moans, and then her moans turned into sobs. She could’ve sworn she’d been crying for hours by the time two other people found her (though it was more likely just a few minutes).

“Uh… Sarah?” Brenda’s voice asked. “Are you okay? You look terrible.”

She looked up, her cheeks red and puffy and her blue eyes still tearing up, to see that the humanized Rapidash had joined her with V.R. in tow.

“No. I’m not,” Sarah sniffled, sitting up with her back to the wall and her knees to her chest. “My whole world’s a fucking _mess._ ”

Brenda looked down at her, wondering what to do. “I… I’m sorry,” she said finally, choosing her words as carefully as she could. “I wish I could’ve done something to help.”

“Done something? How?! You don’t know what it feels like to be part of a badfic that got eleven different continua all tangled up. Maybe even more!”

The Super buried her face in her hands and sobbed wordlessly again.

“Perhaps not,” said V.R. “But like you yourself said, all three of us know what it’s like to be part of a poorly written fanfiction. We’ve all been placed on the sidelines and forced to watch the main character make an ass of himself.”

“Or herself,” Brenda added.

“Doesn’t make a difference,” the angel replied. “But you do know what happened to those people, right?”

“They died,” Sarah replied, making no attempt to hide her brutal honesty.

“In my case, the Sue-wraith who conspired with me was cleansed of its badfic attributes,” V.R. continued. “But most Mary Sues or Gary Stus aren’t that lucky. We were. And we shouldn’t forget that.”

Sarah wiped a fresh tear from her eye and looked up at her. “But what’s the point? How am I supposed to be doing good things for the multiverse if I’m constantly being reminded by everyone that I’m failing at it?”

Brenda shook her head, her blonde-and-brown hair smoldering just slightly. “Maybe you _are_ doing a good job, in your own way. It’s just that it isn’t the way that those people want.”

The Super hung her head, and replied, “You’re not helping, Brenda.”

“But neither is Rashida. Maybe the way she wants things done isn’t the same as yours.”

“She wanted to kill me when we first met,” V.R. added. “But you saved my life, and I owe you for that.”

“How? Rashida was the one who stepped down in the first place,” Sarah said gloomily.

“Because you convinced her to. You diverted her attention from me, and helped her realize that I wasn’t the problem. I was only lying to myself like you were.”

The ponytailed girl glowered at her feet. “Don’t we all?”

“Maybe,” said Brenda. “But you don’t have to stay with that cranky old Sphinx. She’s probably more willing to accept people who listen to what she says. And I get the feeling you just aren’t one of those people.”

“You think?” Sarah replied angrily. Then she sighed. “So… What am I supposed to do?”

“You said you’re transferring, right?” asked V.R. “I think that would be a good idea. You could hopefully find someone who’d you be happier with. Maybe you could even share a room with Cupid. Though not a bed, obviously. I’ll shank you in your sleep if you even try.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Sarah replied. “I can’t say the same about keeping my fingers off those adorably big soft feet of his, though. Don’t worry — he’s okay with getting tickled! In fact, he loves being able to smile in general now that he’s learned how.”

“So, there’s still hope?” V.R. asked, looking suddenly hopeful.

“We’ll see. But for now, I guess I’ll have to talk with the Flowers. It’s been six months since they put me in RC #227, and I haven’t gotten a word from them about my permanent residence since then.”

“Yeah, but… What about Falchion?” asked Brenda. “He looked terrible when you left…”

Sarah covered her mouth in horror. “Oh no… I said something awful, didn’t I? I wanted to tell him that I was transferring the _nice_ way, before, well, _he_ showed up…”

V.R. felt suddenly tense. She did not want to tell Sarah that she was now on good terms with Ripper.

“I could take you to RC #227 first,” said Brenda. “And then the three of us can go to the Flowers together.”

The Super agent smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

 

* * *

 

Brenda and V.R. waited outside the door to RC #227 for ten minutes before the Super emerged again. The other girls could see Falchion just behind the door, and when the Skarmory noticed Brenda, he nodded to her. He chose not to say anything to her lest he alert Rashida, who was curled up in her giant kitty bed at the other side of the room.

“Take care of yourself, Sarah,” the Skarmory said quietly. “I’ll miss you. A lot.”

The Super hugged her adopted brother one last time. “I’ll miss you too, Adam. Always, always, always.”

With that, she left the RC, closing the door behind her while she wiped a tear from her eye. The other girls gave her questioning looks.

“I just couldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” she told the others. “And I had to tell Ripper to never come within a mile of me ever again.”

“You apologized to Rosie as well, I take it?” asked Brenda.

“Yeah,” said Sarah. “The fact that I bailed her out today may have factored into that. She wished me best of luck at my new place. So, I guess that she has her RC, and I have mine.”

The other agents nodded, and followed her. The three of them took around fifteen minutes to walk over to the Hyacinth’s office, during which Brenda related the one time when she tried using a Soccer Ball from _Super Smash Bros._ in the Cafeteria (which had escalated into a food fight that ended with twelve broken windows, several agents being sent to Medical on account of some carelessly tossed watermelons, half the Kitchen being set on fire, and a new distance record for tossed oatmeal). V.R., who had laughed so hard at the story that she was hiccupping, had also accepted Brenda’s offer to visit her friend Miguel the following day, and even Sarah herself was smiling a little by the time they got to the office.

“Uh… You first,” the blonde angel said nervously, pushing the Super through the door.

Sarah took one look at the Hyacinth, and cleared her throat. “Um, hello? I… Uh…”

 _Ah, Miss Squall,_ the water plant replied telepathically _. Make it quick — business is difficult as usual._

“Yeah, well… I was wondering if… you got around to officially assigning me…”

_Actually, I was going to notify you about exactly that._

Sarah blinked in surprise. “You’ve decided my department?”

_Yes, Miss Squall, we believe we have. How interested would you be in working as an untangler?_

The Super agent’s jaw dropped in total shock. “I’m going into… the Department of Implausible Crossovers?”

_Correct. We were tossing different suggestions for your assigned department back and forth for quite a while based on your nature and how you are with other agents, but ultimately we decided on something appropriate for your homefic. The Lichen shall be in his office to sort things out with you, so you might want to see him post-haste._

“I should’ve known,” the Super responded, wiping her brow in relief. “I’ve been wanting to work in the DIC for _so_ freaking long! I hated the crossover elements of my homefic, and I can’t wait to vent my frustration on bad crossovers in general. So, when do I start?”

_Your assignment will be effective immediately. After all, if you were able to brave eleven different continua all at once, two or three should not be a problem._

Sarah smiled. “Thank you, Hyacinth,” she said. “You just made my day, you know that?”

_I expected a more adverse reaction, but that isn’t important. Now, run along. The Lichen does not like to be kept waiting._

Sarah gave her a cheesy salute, and rushed out of the office to join Brenda and V.R. with a look of excitement on her face for the first time in days. Maybe working for the PPC wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
